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Rural Youth Education Study

The purpose of the Rural Youth Education (RYE) Study is to increase understanding of the educational, career and residential plans of youth in rural Pennsylvania.

In order to do
this study, we also need to find out about the factors that influence plans and
student success in achieving their plans. The study has a longitudinal design,
which means the same students will be included in the study over time. This
means that we can actually ask and report about how frequently students change
their plans as they get older, and we can identify the factors that are
associated with changes in plans. This has important implications for
understanding student success in achieving their goals, and factors that pose
barriers to goal achievement or that correspond with changes in life
goals.

Why Rural
Youth?

Some assume
that rural youth are similar to youth in suburban and urban areas, and in many
ways they are. Modern communications technologies mean that youth across the
country (for the most part) have access to the same news, music, reading
materials and television. This doesn’t mean that all youth like the same types
of music, for example, or have the same beliefs. Youth also are influenced by
their families, relatives, friends, teachers and the people and conditions where
they live. Because the places in which youth live can differ on their values,
culture, educational opportunities and job prospects, youth plans for the future
are affected. More often in rural areas youth are encouraged to see leaving the
community as the road to a successful future. This study was designed
specifically to identify and understand the factors that influence the
educational, occupational and residential plans of youth from rural
Pennsylvania.

Project funding has been provided, in part, by The
Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General
Assembly; by a grant from the USDA National Research Initiative, Grant
2007-35401-17736, and by Hatch Grant 4001 to The Pennsylvania State University.